Dying Zookeeper Gets a Kiss Good-Bye from a Giraffe He Cared For

The kiss seen round the world.

Mario is a 54-year-old zookeeper who has worked most of his adult life working at a Dutch zoo. He is now terminally ill with brain cancer, and one of his dying wishes was to be wheeled back to see the animals he had cared for one last time. The Ambulance Wish Foundation, a charity that grants dying wishes to the terminally ill, arranged for Mario, hospital bed and all, to be taken to the giraffe’s enclosure. One of the giraffes approached Mario to give him this kiss good-bye. The photo is now being shared virally around the world.